Category Archives: Steelers News

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Antonio Brown’s Agent Meeting With Steelers, Hopes For New Deal

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Multiple news outlets are reporting that super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Antonio Brown, will be meeting with team officials Friday in Jacksonville. The agent just finished arranging a $65Mil extension with $39Mil in guarantees for TY Hilton in Indianapolis this morning. Rosenhaus hopes tomorrow’s meeting will result in a reworking of Antonio Brown’s contract.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/631807273426415616

The Steelers are arriving in Florida tonight as they prepare to face the Jaguars for Friday night’s preseason matchup.

Antonio Brown is one of the best receivers in the NFL. In 2012, the Steelers signed him to a 6 year, $41.7 Mil contract extension.  Since then, he’s grown into one of the most productive receivers in the league. Brown was the league leader last year with 29 receptions and totaled 1,698 yards- both of which were team records.

Compared to his counterparts in the league, AB is relatively low paid, especially for his production. He averages just under $8.4 Mil/year- the 12th highest among NFL receivers in terms of APY. The Steelers have restructured Brown’s contract twice already. His remaining cap hits are $9,787,500, $12,037,500, and $10,797,500 respectively.

Should the Steelers give Brown more money right now? The answer is going to vary depending on who you ask, but if you’re asking me, the answer is ‘nah’, and the Steelers aren’t going to.  Why would they? There’s really no incentive for the team to do so. At this juncture, they are just being polite and are keeping the conversation lines open with Brown’s camp. ‘We know you want more money’, ‘We know you’re playing above your contract’s value’, ‘Be patient and keep up the good work’.

There’s no reason to think Brown won’t have another very productive season, and after the season is over, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers are ready to entertain more serious negotiations which result in netting Brown more guaranteed money.

Steelers Preseason

Tomlin: Healthy Vets Will Play Friday

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The Steelers head to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars Friday night. Coach Tomlin said in a brief press conference earlier today that the game will feature veteran players who are healthy enough to play. “Our intentions are that all healthy men will play in the football game,” said Tomlin.

This is a marked contrast from the Hall of Fame game, which had several vets watching from the sideline. As you’d expect for the real preseason opener, many of the veteran headliners won’t get a lot of playing time. Ben Roethlisberger will get somewhere around 10-12 snaps, and the other QB’s, Jones, Murphy, and Boyd, will share the remaining playing time.

Tomlin also ruled out some players for Friday’s match up. Aside from the players still on PUP, Vince Williams (hamstring), McCullers (hamstring), Ventrone (ankle), and Golden (knee) will all be sidelined due to their respective injuries.

garrett-hartley

Taking A Closer Look At Garrett Hartley

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have moved quickly in finding a replacement for kicker Shaun Suisham. The team announced Tuesday that they had selected kicker Garrett Hartley, 29, to join the team.

https://twitter.com/GHartley5/status/631273015410565120

Hartley was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008 by the Denver Broncos. Later that year he served as the placekicker for the Saints. His NFL career started strong, as he set an NFL record (no longer standing) for the most consecutive successful field goals in the start of a career. He also was the first kicker in NFL history to convert three field goals over 40 yards in the Superbowl (XLIV). He would go on to sign a contact extension making him the highest paid kicker in the game.

2011 was a rough year for Hartley though, who missed the entire season after a he sustained a hip injury during preseason. After returning to the Saints in 2012 and 2013, he struggled with consistency issues, and was consequently replaced in 2013.

 

The Browns signed Hartley in 2014 as a replacement for Billy Cundiff who was off on a knee injury, but he never saw much gameplay. He was waived by the Browns in March 2015.

By the numbers-

In 2012, Hartley was 18 for 22 (81.8%). 22 for 30 (73.3%) in 2013. He was 3 for 3 last year in Cleveland during the two cold weather games he played in.

Here’s a video Hartley posted to vimeo a few days ago. It contains some of his warmups and some trick shots showing off his leg strength.

After practice yesterday, Coach Tomlin was asked about Hartley.

“He’s an established guy,” Tomlin said. “He’s a been-there-done-that guy,” continuing, “We’ll get to know him along the way.”

Will Hartley be a long term answer, or will the Steelers be shopping the waiver wire in a few weeks? Steeler fans will have to wait and see if Hartley displays his early career reliability over his later career inconsistencies.

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James Harrison Joins Team In Pads Today

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James Harrison is practicing in pads at St. Vincent for the first time this summer.

https://twitter.com/Teresa_Varley/status/631176966155145216

Harrison was often seen donning a sweat-soaked grey sweatshirt for the first 11 practices. Coach Tomlin told media members last week that the veteran linebacker would be wearing pads with his teammates this week, and here he is as expected.

https://twitter.com/krislancaster25/status/631177375338876928

https://twitter.com/Teresa_Varley/status/631180327025836032

steelers

Taking A Look At The Steelers Replacement Kicking Candidates

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The injury bug bit the Steelers Sunday night as steady kicker Shaun Suisham tore his ACL at the HOF game while trying to make a second-half tackle.

Suisham will be hard to replace. His specialized directional kicking and experience at the often tricky Heinz field has been an ace in the whole since 2010, making him the most accurate field-goal kicker in Steeler history. The 33 year old converted 59 of 64 field-goal tries over the past two years and just signed a new four year contract last August.

The Steelers are holding kicker workouts Tuesday in an effort to find a stop-gap replacement for Suisham. Among the invited are Garrett Hartley, Alex Henery, and Jay Feely. Veteran kickers Billy Cundiff and Shayne Graham should also be up for consideration.

Graham, 37, has been around the league. He’s been with a total of 14 teams, including the Steelers for one game in 2013 after a hamstring injury for Suisham.

Feely, 39, has is also a well traveled player, being with seven teams.

Henery seems to be a gamble. He was drafted in the 2011 NFL draft in the fourth round by the Eagles, but they cut him last August. The Lions picked him up in September, but cut him after he missed three field goals in an October loss to Buffalo.

Hartley and Cundiff both played with the Browns in the 2014 season.

One silver lining is the timing of the injury. Although the Steelers broke the norm and didn’t have any additional kickers in camp, they have a month before the regular season starts on September 10th to find a replacement for the season. Even then, the team can pick up a veteran after the season starts. Whomever wins the spot will need to also have the ability to kick off. Punters Brad Wing and Jordan Berry have no experience in that area.

Martavis+Bryant

Martavis Bryant Returns To Practice Today

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Martavis Bryant expects to return to practice today in Latrobe according to Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette.

https://twitter.com/gerrydulac/status/631134210628190208

Bryant has been sidelined for the past week and a half after he underwent a minor procedure to remove an infection from his elbow. Seeing as how he went through pregame warmups in Canton, I expect that he’ll be able to get some reps against the Jaguars this Friday.

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Steelers To Host A Few Kickers Tomorrow

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As you’d expect, the Steelers aren’t wasting any time trying to find a kicker to fill Shaun Suisham’s cleats. After learning the bad news from earlier today, the team has already reportedly scheduled a few workouts for tomorrow.

According to NFL Network, the Steelers will host Jay Feely, Alex Henery, and Garrett Hartley for workouts tomorrow.

Feely is 39 years old. The 14 year veteran was a free agent for much of last season before being signed by the Bears in December.

Henery is 27. He was cut by the Lions last October after missing 3 field goals in a close loss to the Bills. It wasn’t the first performance last season that had people questioning his confidence.

Hartley is 29 years old. He was signed by the Browns last year to replace Billy Cundiff. He did well there, but was released by the Browns in May.

None of these guys are really “that guy” you’re going to feel comfortable with when the game on the line from the 45 with 3 seconds left in late October, when the wind is blowing and it’s spitting freezing rain at Heinz Field.

 

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Report: Suisham Needs Knee Surgery, Likely Out For Season

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Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette is reporting that K Shaun Suisham will be having knee surgery this week to repair his ACL and cartilage damage. If this is the case, he will most certainly be placed on Injured Reserve and be out for the entire 2015 season.

In light of this news, you can expect the Steelers to sign his replacement ASAP.

suisham

Report: Suisham Believes He Has Torn ACL

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Last night K Shaun Suisham left the game early after suffering what Coach Tomlin later described as a potentially significant injury. Suisham, who was seen walking out of the locker room on crutches, is awaiting MRI results to determine the severity of his injury.

NFL’s Ian Rapoport reports this morning that the Steelers veteran is telling people he believes he has a torn ACL.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/630765789029642241

Since the team doesn’t have a backup Kicker, expect the Steelers to make some moves quickly to bring in a replacement leg.

suisham

Shaun Suisham Suffered A ‘Potentially Significant’ Knee Injury

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Kicker Shaun Suisham left the game early after suffering what Coach Mike Tomlin later called a ‘potentially signifcant’ knee injury. Suisham appeared to sustain the injury while making a tackle after the kickoff to start the 2nd half. He limped to the locker room, and was later seen using crutches.

https://twitter.com/C_AdamskiTrib/status/630583404589936644

The injury is to his left (non-kicking) leg. There is no back up kicker, so if Suisham’s injury is significant, the team will need to bring someone in quickly. He will have testing done tomorrow, so we’ll have to wait and see just how serious it is.

The other two players injured tonight were OT Marcus Gilbert, and RB Cameron Stingily. Gilbert reportedly was poked in the eye, and his injury didn’t appear to be serious. Stingily injured his knee during the second half forcing him to leave the game. He is being evaluated.